Woven cartridge belt



April 1943- E. J. GIBBONS WOVEN CARTRIDGE BELT Filed Dec. 6, 1940 INVENTOR. fOW/A .2 6/550;

Patented Apr. 6, 1943 WOVEN CARTRIDGE. BELT Edwin J. Gibbons, East Providence, R. I., as-

signor to Thomas French & Sons, Ltd., .New York, N. vY., a corporation of New York Application December 6, 1940, Serial No. 368,802

4 Claims.

This invention is directed to Woven cartridge belts, more particularly to belts having a series of aligned pockets integrally formed, intended to hold cartridges for machine guns and similar rapid fire arms.

Belts of this kind have been in use for a considerable length of time. As previously made, these belts consisted of two parallel fabrics, woven simultaneously, one above the other, and in which the warp ends of either fabric are caused to interchange with warp ends of the opposite fabric at regular intervals, thereby forming pockets designed to accommodate the cartridges. In the construction of belts of the prior art a twill weave was employed, and because of this fact, the operation of exchanging warp threads from one fabric to the other fabric, and vice versa, without a Visible break in the order of interlacing, essentially involved four to eight successive and distinct picks. In other words, the exchange took place over a relatively wide area. 'The result of this method of construction is that because of the prolonged space required for the complete interchange of warp threads, it was impossible to entirely envelop the cartridge in a firmly interlaced or woven pocket.

The present invention refers to an improved woven machine-gun cartridge carrier in which the tapered, pocket-like apertures designed to accommodate the cartridges are formed at the loom during the process of weaving, and has for its principal feature the facility of being woven on any cross-shot narrow fabric loom having two shuttles per space, preferably operating simultaneously, and having sufficient room in the loom frame from front to back to accommodate a minimum of eight harnesses.

Another important feature of value in this improved machinegun belt is that it may be manufactured on a wider range of machinery than is available for the manufacture of the prior art machine-gun belt, and therefore the improved fabric is not subject to the mechanical limitations that restrict the manufacture of the prior product. In other words, due to the less exacting mechanical requirements of the improved product, the geographical area over which the improved product may be manufactured is greatly increased. This feature may be of inestimable value during time of war, particularly if it should be deemed necessary or advisable to change the location of manufacturing activities from one section of the country to another or less vulnerable section of the country.

Another feature of the improved product is that because of the fact that the weft or filling from both shuttles may be incorporated in the respec tive warps at each and every forward beatof the lay or batten, the rate of production may be doubled, thereby effecting a great savingof time.

Still another feature of my improved machine gun belt is that at each of the instances where there is an exchange of warp threads from one fabric or pocket wall, to the other fabric or opposite wall of the succeeding pocket, all of the reciprocating threads are altered at the same time; that is, on a single pick; whereas in the prior product four to eight successive and distinct picks were required for the complete exchange of warp threads. In other words, in the new product the exchange of warp threads is immediate, whereas in the prior gun belt this exchange of warp threads was a comparatively prolonged process.

This concord of action in the interlacing of the improved gun-belt contributes to a greater in crease of strength at the point of exchange of warp threads.

Other contributory factors are the more powerful type of interlacing employed and the fact that the warp threads in the body of the fabric are all drawn-in double in the harnesses and interlace in pairs, thus permitting the incorporation of many more warp threads in the available space without over-crowding. This increase in strength can easily be demonstrated by loading with shells an 8" or a 10" piece of my improved machinegun belt and an 8" or a'10" piece of the prior machine-gun belt and subjecting the two loaded pieces of belt successively to a severe twisting motion.

It is also among the objects of this invention to provide a cartridge belt or carrier which shall more firmly grip the cartridge over the complete circumference of its shell, and prevent the accidental displacement thereof, and shall maintain its ability to grip the cartridge even after long use. This object is accomplished through the use of the plain weave, which eliminates the ne-' cessity of a prolonged interchange of warp threads at the beginning and end of each woven pocket, and permits the weave to progress up to the exact point of interchange. The result is that a firmer grip is exerted on the body of each shell or cartridge, thus decreasing the danger or possibility of the cartridges falling out of the pockets as the loaded belts may be handled.

In practicing the invention, I provide two separate and distinct parallel fabrics or bands, as heretofore, each comprising warp threads and woven with weft, and cause at least one half of the warp threads of either fabric to cross over or interchange from one separate fabric to the other separate fabric. As a further feature of the present invention, the two separate bands are interlaced or woven in plain weave order, commonly termed one-and-one, and the interchange of warp threads occurs on a single pick and without a visible break in the order of interlacing. This combination of features enables me to tightly interlace the warp and weft of the two different fabrics immediately after the interchange of the reciprocating warp threads, and to continue the interlacing of the warp and weft of the successive pockets up to the exact point of the next interchange of the reciprocating warp threads, thus forming very snug-fitting compartments; whereas in the prior art gun belt the necessity of requiring four to eight picks for the entire exchange of warp threads from one fabric to the other fabric prevented the interlacing of warp and weft from being continued up to the exact point of interchange.

In the accompanying drawing, constituting a part hereof, and in which like reference characters indicate like parts,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a cartridge belt made in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1, showing the structure greatly enlarged, and also greatly exaggerating the distance between the separate bands;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 taken along the line 3--3 of Fi 1;

Fig.4 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of the face of the belt; and

Fig. is a fragmentary edge view of said belt.

The belt I is composed of two separate parallel bands 2 and 3, respectively. A series of pockets 4 for cartridges are formed therebetween by warp interchanges 5, the lower ends of said pockets being contracted by warp interchanges 6. On the opposite edge of the belt are heavy warp threads or cords 1 woven into the edges of the bands. Band 2, as shown at the left of Fig. 2, is composed of two sets of warp threads 8 and 9, and band 3 is composed of two sets of warp threads I!) and H. The respective bands are woven with weft l2 and i3.

In forming the pockets, pairs of warp threads 8 are caused to cross over at M to band 3 and simultaneously therewith threads ll] cross over at l5 into band 2. All of the cross-overs or exchanges take place on the pick represented by weft threads l2 and I3. After the exchange, the outer bands are woven until a point I6 is reached, when warps l0 cross back to the band 3'and warps 8 cross at I! back to band 2. This exchange or cross-over also takes place on a single pick. The space l8 between the two sets of exchanges constitutes a cartridge pocket. As the weaving progresses, warps 8 again cross over to band 3 at H! and warps l0 again cross over to band 2 at 20. Likewise, this cross-over is also on a single pick. This forms a pocket 2| contiguous with pocket l8. The weaving is continued in a similar manner to form a complete cartridge belt.

In Fig. 3 is illustrated the construction at the contracted portions 6 of the belt. Warp threads 22 from band 3 cross over at 24 to band 2, and warp threads .23 from band 2 cross over simultaneously therewith at 25 into band 3. After a few picks, depending upon the shape of the cartridges to be carried, warps 22 recross at 26 to band 3, and simultaneously therewith warps 23 recross at 21 to band 2. As shown in Fig. 3. this cycle is repeated forming a series of contracted openings or pocket ends 23, against which the shoulder of the cartridge comes to rest.

In the bands 2 and 3 there are sets of warp threads 9 and II, respectively, which remain continuously in their respective bands. Usually, the warp threads 9 and H constitute one-half of or approximately that proportion of the total warp threads in the respective bands, but this proportion may be altered as occasion demands.

The exchange of warps on a single pick in my improved gun-belt results in a great increase in strength at the point-of exchange of the warp threads, which, incidentally, is the point at which the maximum amount of strength is desired. Because of this feature, the same increase of strength is characteristic throughout the improved fabric. Another reason for the increase in strength in the new fabric is because of the more powerful type of interlacing employed,-

coupled with the fact that the warp threads in the body of the fabric are all drawn in double in the harness and interlace in pairs, thus permitting the incorporation of many more warp threads in a given space without overcrowding. This increase in strength can easily be demon-- strated by loading with shells a piece of my improved machine-gun belt and a similar piece of the present machine-gun belt and subjecting the two loaded pieces of belt to a severe twistin motion.

Another beneficial result of the single-pick exchange of warp threads from the face fabric to the back fabric, and vice versa, is the firmer grip that is exerted on the body of each inserted shell or cartridge, thus decreasing the danger or possibility of the cartridges falling out of the pockets as the-loaded belts may be handled. This insures a firm, snug and uniform grip on the cartridge and avoids the necessity of employing extraneous devices to prevent cartridges from falling out "of the belt when the same is subjected to handling.

Although I have described my invention setting forth a single embodiment thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variations in the details of construction may be made within the spirit of the invention. Instead of the pairs of threads 8 and I0 interchanging between bands 2 and 3 and threads 9 and II remaining in their respective bands, one may alternately or at any desired intervals interchange all four sets of warp threads. Instead of causing interchange in pairs of threads 8, 9, etc., a single thread of each pair may interchange. These changes are well known to those skilled in the art. and my invention is intended to cover such variations within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is:

1. 'A woven cartridge belt comprising two oppositely faced bands of woven warp and weft, in which the warp threads are arranged in pairs and interlace in pairs throughout the length of the fabric, and in which the interlacing is in plain weave order, approximately one-half of the number of alternate pairs of warp threads in one oppositely faced band interchanging on a single pick with an equal number of alternate pairs of warp threads of the other band, successive interchanges completing a standard cartridge pocket, for the purpose of carrying a plurality of aligned cartridges.

2. A woven cartridge belt comprising two uppositely faced bands of woven warp and weft,

in which the warp threads are arranged in pairs,

and interlace in pairs throughout the length of the fabric, and in which the interlacing of the pairs of ends is in plain weave order, approximately one-half the number of alternate pairs of warp threads in one oppositely faced woven band interchanging on a single pick with an equal number of alternate pairs of warp threads of the other oppositely faced woven band, each successive interchange of pairs of warp threads defining a standard cartridge pocket, for the purpose of carrying a plurality of aligned cartridges, strong threads at the common outer edge of each oppositely faced band, said strong threads which are heavy relative to the warp threads interlacing in plain weave order and interchanging from one oppositely faced band to the other oppositely faced band with corresponding interchanging pairs of warp threads, said strong war threads to act as a reinforcement at the entering edge of the successive cartridge pockets and to facilitate entrance of said cartridges.

3. A woven cartridge belt comprising two oppositely faced bands of woven warp and weft, in which the warp threads are arranged in pairs, and interlace in pairs throughout the length of the fabric, the major portion of alternate pairs of warp threads in one oppositely faced woven band interchanging on a single pick with the corresponding number of alternate pairs of warp threads of the other oppositely faced woven band,

and in which a relatively small number of alternate pairs of warp threads on the longitudinal side of one oppositely faced fabric are caused to interchange with a like number of alternate pairs of warp threads of the oppositely positioned fabric, said interchange being on a pick not in alinement with the interchange of the rest of the warp threads, for the purpose of furnishing a stop against which the shoulders of the standard cartridge shall come to rest.

4. A woven cartridge belt comprising two oppositely faced bands of woven warp and weft, in which the warp threads are arranged in pairs, the threads of any pair lying always side by side and not separated by any other thread, and in which the interlacing is in plain weave order in one-pair-up-one-pair-down sequence, one-half of the warp threads in each of the bands crossing over to the other band, and in which only corresponding portions of the warp threads of said oppositely faced bands interchange, and in which the interchange of warp threads from one oppositely faced band to the other oppositely faced band is consummated on a single pick.

EDWIN J. GIBBON S. 

